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<title>domestic life was never quite my style by noneislefttoprotest</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505159">domestic life was never quite my style</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/noneislefttoprotest/pseuds/noneislefttoprotest'>noneislefttoprotest</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>a curse and a family [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Key to Cygnus (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Childbirth, F/F, Gen, Kid Fic, cygnus childbirth, mild spoilers for key to cygnus endgame, they're just having a baby that's it, well not really.</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:00:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>685</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505159</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/noneislefttoprotest/pseuds/noneislefttoprotest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>About 300 years after they get married, Cassie and Gretchen decide to have a child.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gretchen Finch/Cassiopeia (The Key to Cygnus)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>a curse and a family [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161854</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>domestic life was never quite my style</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>important: i refer to navi with she/her pronouns here but they're nonbinary and use they/them! they're just, you know, a newborn without the cognitive ability to realize that yet</p><p> </p><p>title is from hamilton of course</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Gretchen and Cassie spent the last two weeks in a complete rush. The baby could be here at </span>
  <em>
    <span>any</span>
  </em>
  <span> time. They slept in turns, one looking at the shell until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore - as if they wouldn't wake up the </span>
  <em>
    <span>moment</span>
  </em>
  <span> the baby decided to be born…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They decided on the name Navi early on. It was neutral, and the star they were named after was part of Cassiopeia; it was just the right choice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cassie and some other sun sorcerers built a cute little crib for them, at the end of their bed. It had made sexy times a bit uncomfortable at first, but as long as the baby wasn't there, there wouldn't be a problem.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well… there would certainly be a problem now. Gretchen could barely keep her eyes open, but as soon as the first crack was heard they flew open, and she was by its side in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>second</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Cass! Cass, it's time!" she called out, trying to be loud, but not scream.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cassie looked confused for a second as she woke up, but she inhaled sharply once she realized, and jumped out of bed to turn on the lights.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What do we do??"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't know, is it going to hatch on its own??"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't call it an </span>
  <em>
    <span>it</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Gretch."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You just </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span>."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They watched as their new baby began hatching on their own. The sense of wonder dawned over them as they saw their baby's tiny hands and skin for the first time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Uuh, they're definitely gonna be covered in goop just like normal birth babies, huh?" Gretchen commented, and rushed to get a basin of warm water to wash them first. She heard her wife scoff behind her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Navi was almost fully out when she came back, and Cassie, as gently as she possibly could, picked up the newborn from the nest and placed them in the water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Little girl." she muttered, getting choked up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The baby took their first breath of air… and started screaming. Cass made a face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Oh gods, I forgot about this part."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gretchen carefully cleaned Navi off, cooing and whispering - she had practice in dealing with newborns, what with her army of niblings - and Cassie brought a towel to wrap them with. They worked so well under pressure, one would think they rehearsed beforehand. Within minutes of being born, their baby was swaddled up and being held against Gretchen's chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The adrenaline of the urgency of the birth quieted down with the baby's screams. The new mothers looked at each other, tears in their eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Navi."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Navi… hey, baby. We're your moms! The screaming means you're healthy and everything… We're going to have to set up a gratitude prayer altar. We're very thankful for you." Cass whispered to the tiny baby.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Cassie… She has your skin. Looks just like you, look - the little nose…" And now it was Gretchen's time to get choked up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well… she very much looks like a baby."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gretchen rolled her eyes. They heard a gentle knock at the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"We heard the crying…"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They looked, and saw Eliza opening the door. And Reginald behind her. And Andrew behind him. And Margareth behind </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and only the tops of a pair of wings could be seen behind her-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeah, it made sense their whole family would rush to them the </span>
  <em>
    <span>moment</span>
  </em>
  <span> their baby might've been born. The crowd slowly filled the room, each taking a quiet moment to look upon Navi for the first time, tears of joy running down the new mothers' faces… Gretchen felt something tugging at her hair. Baby Navi had already gotten her little fist around a mess of curls at her reach. The family chuckled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It just </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be in the middle of the night… I'm already so tired." Gretchen commented.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Well, not really." her wife replied, looking at the window - the sun was rising over the ocean, and in a few minutes more it shone over their baby for the first time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And amidst the quiet congratulations, a whisper in Gretchen's ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You'll </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> sleep again, little sister."</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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